


Somewhere Between the Ocean and the Sky

by thegoddessinzerogravity



Category: Oxenfree (Video Game)
Genre: Bonding, Friendship, play Oxenfree (2016) to feel the full spectrum of human emotion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 07:40:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24347383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegoddessinzerogravity/pseuds/thegoddessinzerogravity
Summary: Ren had a fistful of Alex’s newly-bleached hair in one hand, and in the other he was squinting at his phone, trying to read the tiny text instructing him on what to do next.
Relationships: Alex & Michael (Oxenfree), Alex & Ren (Oxenfree)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	Somewhere Between the Ocean and the Sky

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place post-Michael's death, pre-Edwards Island.

Ren had a fistful of Alex’s newly-bleached hair in one hand, and in the other he was squinting at his phone, trying to read the tiny text instructing him on what to do next. 

“I think you’re gonna get developer on your screen,” Alex said. “Your gloves are still covered in it.”

He handed the phone to her and said “You read, then, and tell me what to do next.”

There was a plastic bowl of hair dye sitting directly beside them, and Ren made pains to not knock into it as he leaned forward to give Alex his phone. Normally, he wouldn’t have been so overly cautious. Normally, it might have been funny to tip the bowl over and get blue stains all over his bedroom rug (and probably both of them, in the process), and then Alex would have shrieked and scolded him, but would eventually break down laughing as they cleaned it up. 

But Alex was far from normal, and he didn’t want to mess up this request. Not when she barely talked to anyone anymore, lashed out at teachers and seemed to want to be anywhere but home right now. 

“Okay, dip the brush into the dye and swirl it around, so you get an even covering of color all over the brush, and starting from the root and making your way down the tip, slowly paint each separated section of hair.”

“Easy as pie. You think I should give a nice yank on the hair too, for good luck?” Ren couldn’t see her eyes from where she was sitting, but he was pretty sure she was rolling her eyes.

“I didn’t know that six-year-old Ren and his love hair-pulling had come back to haunt me.”

“Oh, come on now! You know he never really left,” he said. Better this time- he was pretty sure he heard an actual snort of laughter at that one. 

As he carefully dragged the brush over sections of her hair, he constantly bit back the urge to fill the silence. Allie had told him that. 

_“You’re her best friend, Ren, and she needs a shoulder to lean on now more than ever. You don’t even have to be always talking to let her know that you support her. Just be there, let her know she’s not alone.” ___

__The sound of Alex’s voice suddenly broke his reprieve. “You’re being awfully quiet back there. Did you already dye my whole neck blue?”_ _

__“Excuse you, I am a master at draping towels over shoulders. This dye would never dare to come anywhere near your neck.” They were sitting back-to-front on the floor of his bedroom, with Ren’s legs spread out and Alex sitting in between them so he had easier access to her hair. It had proved surprisingly difficult to actually get the bleach to stick in her hair, with their first two attempts of only resulting in a slightly lighter shade of brown than before._ _

__Feeling the silence settle over them again, Ren felt compelled to keep the conversation going._ _

__“So, why this particular shade of blue?”_ _

__Alex shrugged. “It was the first I saw in the store, to be honest. I just wanted any kind of change.”_ _

__“I think you would have looked positively adorable in bubblegum pink.”_ _

__“I don’t think that bubblegum pink is really my style, Ren.”_ _

__“Anything’s your style if you dye your whole hair that color.” That got a real laugh out of Alex, and when they lapsed back into silence it felt more comfortable._ _

__Ren hadn’t known Michael very well. He’d seen him often enough, but it was only ever in the context of when Alex was there. Picking her up and dropping her off at places, chaperoning the occasional group trip to Edward’s Island. It was difficult to separate him from Alex in his head, but that wasn’t fair. Michael had had a life outside of his sister, he had a girlfriend and an acceptance to some college far, far away and probably a hundred other things that Ren just simply never bothered to ask about._ _

__Not that it mattered now._ _

__Feeling a sudden tinging in his sinuses, he dropped the brush back into the bowl and stood up._ _

__“Your head is getting a bit toxic to breathe in, Alex, so I’m gonna crack open the window.” She nodded and stood up as well, stretching her arms up the ceiling. It was probably uncomfortable, sitting cross-legged in one place for so long.  
__

____

____

__The air outside was still warm, but had a bite of the incoming winter in it. The wind pushed into the room, sweeping away the smell of bleach, and Ren noticed Alex shiver._ _

__“You can grab my comforter if you’re cold, you know. And that’s already blue, so we won’t even have to worry about-.”_ _

__“I think my parents are getting divorced.” The words seemed to force their way out of Alex’s mouth, and she looked almost afraid as soon as she was done speaking._ _

__For once in his life, Ren had no idea what to say to her. She looked very small with the ratty old towel draped over her shoulders._ _

__“Ever since Michael, they’ve been screaming at each other every night. For hours sometimes, and I just don’t think . . . I can’t . . .” she trailed off, and Ren wished more than anything in the world that something to say would pop into his mind to break the awful silence in the room as she trembled to herself. But even then, Alex’s shoulders were stiffening, and she seemed to be gaining some resolve back,_ _

__“I think I could literally come home with a pet tiger on a leash or a machine gun strapped to my shoulder and they wouldn’t notice.”_ _

__“Blue hair is a bit less extreme than either of those. But I’m always happy to help Alex shock and bamboozle the world.” She grinned, and then laughed again, and he felt relief swoop over him. They were still okay._ _

__“I got the whole left section of your hair done, so lets sit back down and finish up the Camena equivalent of bringing home a pet tiger on a leash.”_ _

__For just a second, he could have sworn he saw tears glinting in the corner of Alex’s eyes, but they were gone just as quickly. And then she reached out and pulled him into a hug._ _

__“Aw, I’m very touched, but there was really no point in being so careful with the towel if you were just gonna smear blue dye all over my chest anyway.” Alex hastily withdrew. He patted her shoulder. “Lets just sit back down, and when I’m finished here and you’ve dunked your head in the shower for a few minutes we can hug to our hearts content.”_ _

__As she returned to her previous position on the floor, Ren felt a sudden, intense gratitude come over him. He could still make her laugh. She wasn't all gone, yet. She was going to be okay._ _

**Author's Note:**

> I've always liked the headcanon that Ren helped Alex dye her hair after Michael died. Speaking from experience, it's hard to get as good a dye job as she has doing it by yourself.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought! My first time writing for this fandom.


End file.
